Should women in logistics stay or switch? An application of the moderating effect of work-life balance in the self-determination theory to Malaysian young women

Abstract

The transport and logistics sector is described as non-traditional for women because the industry mostly employs men and the tasks undertaken are viewed as masculine. Therefore, the difficulties that women face when working in the transport and logistics sector are recognized as different from women working in traditional areas. Women continue to be under-represented, especially in the transport and logistics sector. Inequity and career barriers continue to be an issue within this sector. A lack of interest toward the issue of inequality of genders in the logistics industry in Malaysia will further worsen the disinterest in the issue. The challenges faced by women in the logistics industry are framed by the community which sees the industry as not belonging to women. However, the number of women involved in this industry increases on a yearly basis. Despite the issue of work-life balance due to round the clock working conditions, women remain in this challenging industry. Hence, to address this issue, the authors unearth the factors influencing the intention to stay among women in the logistics industry by extending the self-determination theory with job satisfaction and family supervisor supportive behavior as additional predictors, and work-life balance as a moderator. By adapting a purposive sampling method, a total of 248 usable questionnaires were gathered from women in the logistics industry in Malaysia. The findings indicate that extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation, job satisfaction, and family supportive supervisory behavior have a positive relationship with the intention to stay in the logistics industry. Furthermore, work-life balance moderates the relationship between job satisfaction and extrinsic motivation toward the intention to commit to the logistic industry. The present study provides a foundation for human resource departments to reduce the prevalence of retention issues and decrease the number of talented employees who leave their work, especially women in the logistics field.

Keywords

Women in logistics / Intention to stay / Self-determinant theory / Work-life balance

Funding

None.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interest.

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